FAQ's

As per Section 36 of the BD Act, 2002, the Central Government (Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change) shall develop national plans for the conservation, promotion and sustainable use of biological resources. The State Government shall develop state plans for the conservation, promotion and sustainable use of the biological diversity in conformity with the national strategies, plans and programmes, as per Section 36B of the amended BD Act.

In October, 2024, India’s updated national biodiversity strategy and action plan was prepared in alignment with the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework. India released the same in the side event of the COP-16 meeting at Cali, Colombia.

Yes, as defined under Section 2(c) of the Act, biological resources include ‘derivatives’. Section 2(fa) defines “derivative” as a naturally occurring biochemical compound or metabolism of biological resources, even if it does not contain functional units of heredity. Therefore, access to derivatives for undertaking the activities in the Act requires prior approval.

utilising the benefit-sharing amount received by the NBA?
As per Section 27(2) of the Act, the benefit sharing amount realized by the NBA shall be utilised for the following purposes:

1. channelling benefits to the benefit claimers;
2. conservation, promotion and sustainable use of biological resources;
3. Socio-economic development of areas from where such biological resources or TK associated thereto have been accessed in consultation with the BMC. When it is not possible to identify the area from where the biological resources or TK associated thereto have been accessed, the fund shall be utilised for socio-economic development of the area where such biological resources occur; and
4. For any other activities to meet the purposes of the Act.

The applicant shall be liable to pay up to 5.0% of the monetary benefit received from the transferee, as a benefit-sharing amount, as determined by the NBA on a case-by-case basis.

Yes, the BD Act, 2002 has been amended twice as given below:

1. A new provision Section 52A, was inserted with an enactment of National Green Tribunal Act, 2010 which came into force on October 18, 2010. The appellate jurisdiction under the relevant provisions of the Act has been transferred from the High Court to the National Green Tribunal.
2. The Biological Diversity (Amendment) Act, 2023 (No. 10 of 2023) published in the Gazette of India, Ext., Pt. II, S.1, vide notification no. CG-DL-E-03082023-247815 dated August 03, 2023. Subsequently, the first corrigendum was issued on 09-08-2023 and second corrigendum was issued on 29-02-2024.

The application forms for getting specific permissions are available on the ABS e-filing portal. After receiving the application complete in all aspects, the NBA will examine and verify the information. If the application is found in order, the Competent Authority shall grant necessary approval.

No. Section 5 exempts transfer or exchange of biological resources or TK associated thereto between institutions under collaborative research projects from obtaining approval for the purpose of research provided that such research projects conform to the policy guidelines issued by the Central Government from time to time. The principal investigator of the Indian institution is required to furnish the following to the NBA;

1. Information in a proforma for giving intimation to the NBA;
2. Approval of the concerned Ministry/Department of the State or the Central Government for the collaborative research project in the prescribed format; and
3. Copy of the MoU executed between the concerned institutions.

Yes, the name of the applicant and the biological resources mentioned in the IPR-related forms (Forms 6-9) must be consistent with the details provided in the corresponding patent applications. This alignment ensures that the NBA can check the information between the patent application and the IPR forms. Discrepancies in the applicant's name or the biological resources listed may result in delays or complications during the approval process. Therefore, to maintain transparency, compliance, and consistency, the details provided in both the patent application and the NBA forms should be identical.

Section 2(ea) of the Act defines “codified traditional knowledge” as the knowledge derived from authoritative books specified in the First Schedule to the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940. Access to such codified traditional knowledge is exempted for Section 7 persons (individual/entity).

ln the event of developing hybrids combination of both lndian and non-lndian biological resources, the ABS will be calculated proportionate use of lndian biological resources, on a case-by-case basis. However, the scientific proof of onus lies with the applicant.

No. The activity of “video graphing” and “camera trapping” does not fall within the scope of Sections 3, 4, 6 or 20 of the Act and therefore no approval is required from the NBA.

The BD Act, 2002 received the assent of the President on February 05, 2003. However, the provisions of the BD Act related to administrative matters came into force on October 01, 2003 and the provisions related to Access and Benefit Sharing came into force on July 01, 2004.